Healthy Dinner Ideas for Every Night of the Week
It’s the ultimate cooking challenge: crafting a week’s worth of meals that are quick, cheap and healthy. The best way around this conundrum is planning, so here’s a list of wholesome meals that will be ready in 20. Plus, they give you the added bonus of variety, for a full week of stress-free cooking with a full range of flavours.
Image credit: avoberrybowl, Instagram
Sunday: Falafel salad
This is the easiest meal you’ll make all week. Simply chop up your favourite salad veggies — baby gem lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions — and toss them through some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then warm up your falafels in a frying pan over a low heat and add them on top. Garnish with a generous serve of Celebrate Health Vegan Mayo and a light sprinkle of smoked paprika.
Monday: Anchovy pasta
This meal idea comes to you courtesy of the sun-drenched shores of Sicily, where they’ve taken the traditional pasta sauce and added the protein and healthy omega 3 fats of the humble anchovy. Simply stir together the Celebrate Health Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce with a can of diced tomatoes and bring to the boil, then add a jar of anchovies. Serve on spaghetti or penne with a sprinkle of chili flakes and parmesan. It’s a quick and healthy meal that feels anything but.
Tuesday: Indian Butter Chicken
Who said a luxurious butter chicken couldn’t also be healthy? Celebrate Health’s Indian Butter Chicken recipe base takes away the added sugar and saturated fats of the standard stir-through sauce, for a lean and authentic mid-week meal. Simply slice up a chicken breast and fry it in cooking oil until sealed on all sides, then add the recipe base. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve on a bed of brown rice with a side of peas, broccoli or kale fried in cumin and mustard seeds. Delicious enough to appear on this list twice, really.
Wednesday: Teriyaki Stir Fry
All you’ll need is a lean chicken breast plus whatever healthy veggies you feel like broccoli, carrots, capsicum or snow peas, or all of the above. First, fry your slices of chicken breast in oil until sealed, then add your chopped-up vegetables and fry until softened. Stir through the Celebrate Health Teriyaki Stir Fry recipe base and fry until the chicken is cooked through. Serve on a bed of brown rice and, if you’re feeling extra, slide a fried egg on top for an added punch of protein. For a vegan version, simply switch out the chicken for a firm tofu.
Thursday: Pumpkin Risotto with Mushrooms and Toasted Seeds
This recipe lets Celebrate Health’s ready-to-eat Vegan Pumpkin Tri-Colour Risotto do the bulk of the work for you, while you swoop in at the end with a couple of simple flourishes to steal the glory. One flourish is stirring through a handful of fried mushrooms and a bunch of fresh spinach just before serving. The other is garnishing your dish with a mix of sunflower seeds and pepitas fried in cumin and paprika. It’s not cheating when it’s this healthy and delicious.
Friday: Chinese Beef Stir Fry
Take the basic set-up of Wednesday’s stir fry and switch out the sauce for Celebrate Health’s Chinese Beef Stir Fry recipe base, and the chicken breast for beef strips or slices of tofu. Simply fry up the beef and some sliced onions, mix in the recipe base and your vegetables and stir until the beef is cooked through. Serve this one with a pack of fresh egg noodles.
Image credit: wellnesswithvic, Instagram
Saturday: BBQ Burger Bowl
We can’t take the credit for this genius recipe, Victoria (@wellnesswithvic) shared it with us on Instagram. Lay a bed of lettuce, shredded carrots, tomatoes, beetroot, pickles and pineapple rings in your bowl. Fry up a grass-fed beef patty and sit it on top, then drizzle a generous amount of Celebrate Health BBQ Sauce on top. It’s a delicious burger, without the guilt.